Harry Kane's injury puts pressure on Heung-min Son to shine for Tottenham
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Updated 09/04/2019 at 22:07 GMT
Heung-min Son needed just 20 minutes to prove all is not lost for Tottenham without Harry Kane, but that will be revisited in 11 days’ time after two more games with Manchester City, writes Michael Hincks.
Harry Kane (Tottenham)
Image credit: Getty Images
It is not a sight Spurs fans ever want to see, but especially not in April… in their first European game at their new ground… in a Champions League quarter-final first leg… against Manchester City.
The previously-raucous support at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium fell flat as Kane hobbled off down the tunnel, with the striker appearing to turn his ankle after going in late on England team-mate Fabian Delph.
Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino was not happy with the City left-back for his role in the incident, but it was a clumsy challenge from Kane which proved to do damage only to himself.
Pochettino on Kane’s injury after the match: “We need to check tomorrow, but it looks like it’s the same ankle and a similar injury. Very sad, very disappointed, we are going to miss him, maybe for the rest of the season. We hope it’s not a big issue, but we’ll see.”
And as talk turned to how Spurs would cope without their captain, how long Kane would be out for, and whether their Champions League and Premier League top-four hopes were now in tatters, the solution presented itself just 20 minutes later.
From despair in the 58th minute, Son stepped up in the 78th to hand Spurs a 1-0 advantage against City going into next week’s second leg.
It was a goal which epitomised the outlook Spurs must take without Kane. Son chased a lost cause and ultimately prospered, first in beating the offside trap, and then in preventing the ball from going out for a goal-kick before he fired it under Ederson.
Kane’s history of ankle injuries
The Spurs captain was out for six weeks with ankle ligament damage earlier this year, missing seven games, the fourth such occasion he has suffered ankle problems. Kane had two spells on the sidelines in the 2016-17 campaign due to an ankle injury, and was out for 11 weeks in total, while he also missed two games last season.
Having appeared to injure the same ankle which kept him out for six weeks earlier this year, the prospects of Kane returning before the end of the season appear to be slim, and Spurs will need Son to continue basking in the spotlight as they gear up for a crucial 11 days.
There is a home tie against Huddersfield to come for Spurs on Saturday, but it is the double-header at the Etihad, first in the Champions League second leg next Wednesday, and then in the Premier League next Saturday, which looks set to define their season.
Many will point to the fact Son has already proven himself capable of stepping into Kane’s shoes. The Korean scored in four straight games when his captain was absent back in January and February. The pessimists will tell you three of those goals came against Watford, Newcastle and Leicester, but the optimists will point towards the strike against Borussia Dortmund, which helped Spurs believe they were capable of dismantling the very best Europe has to offer.
That belief will be needed at City, while the question of how big a blow Kane’s absence will truly be, can only be answered in 11 days’ time.
Son will hope he can keep on shining, but the stakes are higher than ever now.
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